When Jim Brulte, chair of the California Republican Party, was asked this weekend whether his embattled party could win a single statewide office in 2014, he refused to predict victory.

"This is a party that, whether we like it or not, has been in decline for over two decades," he told reporters at his party's three-day state convention in Burlingame, where hundreds of grassroots activists and candidates gathered to plan strategy. "Ask me in November."

Brulte wasn't alone in being cautious - and in some cases, also painfully realistic - about the party's prospects in some of the state's highest-profile races this year.

With few exceptions, activists in the nation's largest state GOP organization openly conceded their party is unlikely to beat incumbent Gov. Jerry Brown, who has amassed at least $17 million in his campaign war chest and appears to be sailing toward re-election.

"It's not that realistic, let's admit it," said Joel Fox, president of the Small Business Action Committee and editor of the conservative blog Fox & Hounds Daily. "He's positioned himself well. He's leaned to the right and to the left. We thought the (Democratic) supermajority would go wild, and it didn't.

"Any Las Vegas bean counter could look at this and tell you how they think it would turn out," he said.

The GOP leaders at the convention were equally pragmatic, with most acknowledging their party's chances of taking back statewide posts from Democrats who now hold them all are long shots at best.

In a convention with the theme of "Rebuild, Renew, Reclaim," Harmeet Dhillon, the state party's vice-chair, made it clear that the GOP's top priority this year would be downsized to real deliverables - winning local races and with local faces.

'Rebuild' candidates

"We're focusing on those 'rebuild' candidates, meaning getting people in the pipeline ... building back our bench," said Dhillon, who also heads the San Francisco GOP.

Dhillon's comments underscored how, after years of financial ruin, declining voter registration and intraparty battles that have depleted their forces, California Republicans appear determined to climb out of their lengthy malaise.

They have taken a decidedly pragmatic and hyper-local approach to a rebound. Yet they are hardly conceding defeat.

Dhillon is among those in the GOP who point to GrowElect, a political action committee which works to elect Latino Republicans at the local level and already boasts dozens of wins in seats around California. The group, under the leadership of former San Mateo County Supervisor Ruben Barrales, drew a packed house over the weekend as it showcased strategies for winning races.

"It's a success story," said Dhillon, who said the party now needs to expand those efforts to Asian American voters.

It's the start of what Republicans say will be a long-term, top-to-bottom effort to turn California red.

In a state where Republicans lag behind Democrats in voter registration by a 41 percent to 29 percent margin, Brulte said the party can already boast that it holds more elected positions at the city council and mayoral levels than Democrats.

Tap Democratic districts

And GOP calls for fiscal responsibility, pension reform and job development already have resonated in two key Democratic-leaning districts where Republicans are celebrating recent wins.

They include Kevin Faulconer's victory in the recent San Diego mayor's race, won despite labor's $4 million investment in Democrat David Alvarez, and last year's special election win by Andy Vidak in a Central Valley state Senate district.

"We can repeat those," Dhillon predicted. "We have to match the Democrats in the trenches."

The "all politics is local" strategy is also being tested in races like the East Bay's 16th Assembly District, where pro-choice GOP attorney Catharine Baker is pounding fiscal issues in a highly competitive contest that pits her against three Democrats for the open seat.

"I would look at people less as what party you're a member of," said Baker, who faces a stiff challenge from Orinda Councilman Steve Glazer, Dublin Mayor Tim Sbranti and Danville Mayor Newell Arnerich.

"This is one of the most interesting and competitive seats in all of the Bay Area ... and it's one of those seats that will impact the two-thirds majority" of Democrats in the state Legislature, she said. "This is a seat that is targeted for many reasons."

Not all Republicans are happy with the local-first strategy.

Defeatist attitude blasted

Southern California Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, a former California Minuteman founder and a Tea Party favorite who is running for governor, lambasted what he called the "bunch of gibberish" and defeatist attitude from his own party's establishment.

"No one thinks we can take out Jerry Brown, and that's perfect because they won't see us coming until it's too late," he told the party's passionately supportive conservative caucus, who nodded their agreement on Saturday.

Donnelly, who by far drew the biggest crowds and most vocal supporters at the convention, openly challenged the party establishment's effort to deny statewide candidates a speaking slot at the convention, a decision they later rescinded.

"It's ridiculous," he said. "They're terrified that someone who takes a strong position might represent them. They don't understand that's how we're going to win."

Neel Kashkari, the moderate former Treasury official running for governor, took a more diplomatic tone.

'We have to go and fight'

"I agree that the lower races are really important, and one of my goals in bringing everybody back to the GOP is to help everyone on the ticket win," he said. "It's absolutely hard, but there's many examples nationally of very powerful incumbents losing."

Even if the statewide races are tough, "we have to go and fight. We have to come up with better economic ideas," he said, though he acknowledged he has not yet proposed a business or jobs plan.

Longtime GOP watchers acknowledged their party's challenges are immensely complicated in facing a party led by Brown, an iconic and well-funded California figure with nearly four decades of political experience.

"Can he be beaten?" said Jon Fleischman, publisher of the conservative FlashReport blog. "It's going to be a tough haul.

"Should he be beaten?" he asked. "Californians would be much better off if Jerry Brown was able to spend his 80s in retirement."